


New Variables

by DarthLivion (DistantShenanigans)



Series: Variables [3]
Category: Ashlesha (Awaken the Stars series), Awaken the Stars Series - Jer Keene
Genre: Gen, Mentions of past child abuse, frightened 12 year old, what happened when Eric joined his eldest brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 04:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11661435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DistantShenanigans/pseuds/DarthLivion
Summary: Tua hadn't expected much when he was asked to follow his grandmother, and when he was handed over to his biological father, he was shocked.





	New Variables

**Author's Note:**

> Next installment of the Variables series. This is unbeta'd, by the way!
> 
> Warning: Eric literally scares the piss out of Tua, and Tua cries in fear. ~~I did at 12, too, and sometimes still do.~~

Tua hadn't expected much when he was asked to follow his grandmother, and when he was handed over to his biological father, he was shocked. He had known that his step-dad hadn't been his real father, ever, and being told he'd be living with his actual dad was one of the most frightening and relieving things he'd ever heard. He was terrified, of course he was!, but he was also relieved he'd never be near his alcoholic step-dad again. Nobody would ever say it, but Tua knew the truth; the drunk had been abusing him, and his grammy had had enough of it.

Meeting Xāwuṭh Bùi had been interesting, and Tua had been absolutely shocked senseless when he found himself walking towards the boat at the docks, where a man who kinda looked like him was standing and waiting.

The man looked at him for a while, and something in Tua's gut told him that the man was processing the fact that Tua was real.

“This him?” asked the man, a few moments later.

“It is,” Grammy confirmed, “Tua, this is your father, Xāwuṭh Bùi. Xāwuṭh, this is Tua Bùi.”

“Grammy...” Tua stood close to her, watching the man closely. He had a scar on his face, slicing through his left eyebrow, and Tua was worried about where, exactly, his biological father had gotten it.

“It's alright, my little sea-turtle.” Grammy Hauiti smiled and pat Tua's cheek. “You need to go with your father now.”

“But what about you?” asked the twelve year old.

“I will be just fine, Tua. You can call me whenever you like,” she promised, and Xāwuṭh nodded at that, confirming that he had the right to call her if he wanted to. He hugged Grammy Hauiti one last time, before she ushered him onto the boat.

Xāwuṭh showed him around, and he was able to admit that he was very curious about how the boat worked, and while his father frightened him, he found himself hovering whenever the man was at the wheel, steering their transportation into the direction of... wherever they were headed.

At one point, Tua found himself between his father and the wheel, being taught what to do and how to do it. He learned they were going to Mapun, and when Xāwuṭh finally let him steer the ship on his own, he found himself excited for the first time in days. He didn't do awful, and even though he didn't think he did well at it, Xāwuṭh gave him some praise anyways, saying Tua did good whether he thought so or not.

The next several days went like that, with Tua learning how to run the boat, learning that his father was a _freaking pirate_ , and then steering the boat when Xāwuṭh needed to sleep. A routine formed for him, and he was starting to feel safe with Xāwuṭh. Then he finally ran into the other crew member of the ship, Xāwuṭh's cousin Sorrow, and it was worrying, and Tua stuck close to his father. It didn't take long for Tua to start calling Sorrow his uncle, though, and he smiled when his uncle looked pleasantly surprised at the title.

It wasn't like he didn't know what not having a gender was, or being a different gender from what your body claimed. Grammy Hauiti's sister was like that, and Tua grew up with it being a normal thing, even though he knew some people didn't see it like that. He knew his new home wasn't going to see it as normal, either, but Tua didn't care.

Uncle Sorrow was perfectly normal.

It hadn't been until about six weeks after that he was heading towards the bathroom – the head, his father had called it – that it happened.

A man launched himself over the side of the boat, and Tua couldn't stop the scream as he saw Xāwuṭh get jumped on, and then there was a knife, and then Xāwuṭh was holding the man in a hug and Tua knew his pants were wet, that he peed himself, but he was more scared then he had ever been before, and his father was _hugging_ the man who jumped him!

It was Uncle Sorrow who said something to the two, and Xāwuṭh was hurrying over to Tua with worry on his face.

“Tua-” Xāwuṭh started, but the boy surprised all of them by starting to cry. Hesitantly, Xāwuṭh reached out to Tua, and the boy shoved himself at him, clinging to him and crying into his chest. There was another moment of hesitation, before Tua felt his father's arms around him, holding him tightly.

“Uhh....?” asked the man, before Xāwuṭh looked over at him.

“I'll explain in a moment,” Xāwuṭh said, before looking at Tua. “Sweetheart, come on, let's get you changed.” Tua was glad his father went with him to the cabin, because he didn't really think asking him to come with him was something appropriate for a child his age to ask. Xāwuṭh explained who the man was, though.

His uncle, who they thought was dead, was apparently not as dead as they thought.

It wasn't until they were nearly to Mapun that Tua found himself finally talking to Eric without his dad or Uncle Sorrow around with them.

He learned more about how stupid the United States government was than he'd ever wanted to know, and he hugged his uncle, as the man laid in the bed.

There was so many new things going on in his life, but that was okay. Life was constantly changing, for the good or the bad.

But with his uncles and dad around, Tua found himself looking forward to the new variables life could throw at him.

 


End file.
